Lucy and the Caterpillar, CUP Manchester 28/04/08

CG | Saturday, 03 May 2008

20-year-old Lucy Conroy originates from Burnley, just a stone's throw from Manchester, although you’d be forgiven for thinking she'd tiptoed straight out of an imaginary fairyland. Draped head to toe in her trademark vintage dresses and carrying her three-quarter sized guitar (aka “The Caterpillar”), the crowd at her 'Lucy's Opinion' single launch go doe-eyed for her pixie-like charm before she even utters a word.

Although barely out of her teens, Lucy has perfected the art of enchanting onlookers with candid and reflective accounts of wine drinking and sweet eating. The minute songstress writes and delivers warm, reflective and heart-felt vocals. And whilst sugar-coated accounts of alcoholic dreams won’t change your life, I don’t imagine these ditties were created with any other aim than to raise a smile. Unsurprisingly, Lucy slots well into the current trend of modern, kooky female vocalists, offering the listener an earful of Kate Nash/Regina Spektor-esque musings on everything from crisps to bumblebees.

For those who thrive on the impish imagination of quirky vocalists, Lucy takes listeners to another level with hand knitted merchandise, an infamous owl mascot and penchant for tea-party style gigs. But one can be forgiven for thinking that on occasion it does begin to feel like we are drowning in a river of idiosyncratic cutesiness. There are only so many times that regurgitating accounts of mundane tasks can sound adorable during one gig.

Knitting aside, Lucy's recently added Manchester lads The Earlies to her set - an intelligent move towards a creation of depth within Lucy’s songs. And undoubtedly, the inclusion of strings and keys will allow for a less troublesome indie-pop crossover for the Northern songwriter. Don't be fooled though: whilst kooky anecdotes might even convince you that even the night-bus home is a fluffy adventure, the relentless brightness of the occasion may just leave you a little nauseated. Or did I just eat too many cup cakes?